If you polled Georgia fans as to which position is the biggest question mark, cornerback would probably be it.
Head coach Kirby Smart would agree.
It’s not that there's any shortage of talent. It’s just that the Bulldogs will be so young. Georgia only returns three players—Jalen Kimber, Ameer Speed, and Daran Branch—who have ever lined up at the position in a collegiate game.
Let’s take this knowledge a step further.
As redshirt freshmen, Kimber and Branch have only played in three games between them. Speed has played in 35 career contests, but primarily as a special teams performer, with only limited reps on the defensive side.
To hear Smart discuss the issue, the Bulldogs are in dire straits.
"Yeah, the cornerback position is completely open. To name guys is probably not smart of me,” Smart said last week. “We have a lot of guys that could be working at cornerback. Every guy on the team is a potential cornerback right now.”
It’s that last comment that drew Smart some fire on the various social media platforms, with some accusing him of sandbagging on the talent he has on hand, while others—mostly rival fans—used the quote to take shots at what they perceived as a lack of recruiting to be in this position in the first place.
That last part, we can nip in the bud right now.
If you count all the scholarship defensive backs currently on the Georgia roster, safeties included, all but three of the 12 currently on the team were ranked four stars or higher, according to Rivals.com.
That includes five-star Kelee Ringo, who missed his freshman season with Labrum surgery, and true freshman Nyland Green, who held over 40 offers from schools all over the country.
“That position is up for grabs,” Smart said. “There are no guys who are proven returning starters, and every guy is working hard to learn the techniques and details that it takes to play winning football at that position."
So where do things stand, and what should we look for this spring?
It’s probably not going out on too big of a limb to suggest that Ringo will hold down one of the two starting spots.
The second—well it’s definitely up for grabs.
Sitting here in early March, the aforementioned Speed, Kimber, and Green would appear to be the favorites, although there's still a good chance you'll see Smart attempt to address the youth and inexperience via the NCAA transfer portal.
Former Clemson standout Derion Kendrick is still a name that’s out there as one you hear associated with the Bulldogs. He could be somebody to watch if Smart looks to add some needed experience to the room.
Even more likely than bringing in someone from the outside will be the desire of Smart and new defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae to cross-train some of the players considered more as safeties.
That includes the likes of Major Burns, early enrollee David Daniels, and no doubt several others. Even early enrollee running back Lovasea Carroll is said to have been getting a look during the ongoing winter workouts.
“You look across the SEC. Throwing the ball has gotten better and better, and we want those guys to get exposed,” Smart said. “We're one of the conferences that plays more man-to-man than anyone else; so you need to have guys out there who can function.”
When spring practice gets underway on Tuesday, there will be a lot of coaches watching the cornerbacks to see what ultimately shakes out.
The pieces are there; they're just very young, inexperienced pieces.
